Eating like a little piglet
 

For the love of Pete and all things Holy!!
I cannot stop stuffing my face since I quit drinking. And with sugar? I NEVER eat sugar. Never even craved sugar. I'm good with a bite or two of ice cream about twice a year, in the heat of summer. I really should not have any as I have type II Diabetes (another gift of alcoholism) This has got to stop. I am on medical leave from work...so I'm not running around all day as I usually do. (Literally on feet all day, basically moving constantly) My knee is all busted up (not broken, had X-ray, some kind of sprain or tear... I don't know, no insurance means no MRI) I'm just sitting during 3-4 meetings a day. Still walking dog, just not as much as I'd like. I take the pup frequently, just too short of a walk for me. So far weight is same, thankfully. About the last thing I want to do is replace one addiction with another, or have to get bigger pants...OY! Driving me batty!!
Anyone else go through this?
Thanks,
J

I am diagnoised with Type II, but when I don't drink, my readings are almost perfect.

When I drink, I don't eat any sweets or drink any coffee. When I get sober ... back comes coffee and the sweets are impossible to resist. I have gained about 25 pounds this sobriety.

At this point, my son hides the donuts and doles them out to me approprietly, however I still eat cans of frosting, tubs of icecream (about 4 quarts a week or maybe 6).

I'm doing a bit better now that I'm gardening. I don't know the answer, although the no sweets thread that was around a few years back did help. Not even sure which of the sections it was in.

Just remember (as I have to right now) ... overweight, although not healthy, is a lot healthier than drinking. And in time this will pass and I should be able to loose weight again.

Good luck!

I'm no health nut, cheesesteaks are kinda the base of my "food pyramid", and I have fairly well developed sweet tooth, enoug so that I tell my wife " No , don't buy oreos" not because I don't want them :) all that said believe or it or not I like the 'easy' fruits bananas, apples,,pears grapes , they go well with a sweet tooth, I was shocked :), not that there isn't a Hershey special dark in the drawer, at all times :) but there is a bowl of fruit too

Alcohol is processed like a simple sugar that spikes your blood sugar levels. Once you sober up, your body is still craving it, which causes the massive cravings.
I also pretty much never ate sweets, but once off the sauce, I couldn't stop stuffing my face with candybars.
It will level out though with time.

Thanks all!
I was reading last night about the alcohol sugar connect and cravings after we quit.
Now what am I going to do with the giant mushroom/onion/cheese filled bacon covered meatloaf I made last night? 😉 J

Hahaha yes. I put on 60 lbs in a year. Do you have any idea how MUCH you have to eat to gain that type of weight? I've lost most of it now. I remember going to bed with a bag of twizzlers instead of a bottle. I would have red streaks on my face from falling asleep mid-chew and plastering my cheeks into half eaten twizzlers. Oh God I was a MESS. Allow yourself some grace. I told myself it was ok....that as long as I didn't drink, I could eat all the twizzlers, chips and pizza I wanted. For now...just don't DRINK!

Am sooo feeling this now, over 7 months sober and up 30 lbs. WHEN does the cravings taper off?? I never did the sweets thing before, now, I can't get enough. And coffee. I like my black coffee with sweetener, so I've been using half the sugar, half the fake stuff to cut back on sugar. Have been trying to control the urge, replacing sweets with fruits is a good start. I reallllyyyyy don't want to have to buy all new clothes and am stubbornly holding on to the ones that used to fit. But, yeah, it's better than drinking. (sigh) When I drank I didn't eat much, so I was much thinner, right now I'm the biggest I've ever been in my life. Almost replacing drinking with depression over my new size. :(

So, anyone, how long did it take you to come off the sugar cravings?

I've actually been surprised that I haven't lost much weight since quitting. I was drinking tons of beer! I would have thought that the weight would be falling off of me, it's disappointing, to be honest. At first, I was eating way more sugar than I did when I was drinking so I understood..... but the last month or so I've cut a lot of the junk out and I've been exercising regularly with minimal results..... oh well! I feel strong and healthy so I guess that's what's important. I found that the way to give up the sugar was to stop buying it, out of sight, out of mind. I still indulge a bit ;) but not like I was that first month!

Eat eat eat!
Remember what it felt like to be so nauseous, the thought of even drinking a little water made you vomit?

If I don't eat, I crave alcohol like it's oxygen.

Thanks all. I will reign it in eventually. I know how to eat healthier...for now as someone just said I'm happy to be eating!
I basically lived off a couple crackers to temper the spins while drunk. Not so hot.
I'm good with rejoining civilization, being clear headed and eating a hot meal I actually prepped even if it ends with a helping of ice cream. It's *GOT to be better than where I was! Drunk, dehydrated and gagging or yacking up straight bile. Don't miss that at all.
J

Common

I didn't eat much when I was drinking, mostly because of how many calories are in alcohol. . . so I starved myself so I could drink... pretty stupid of me. Anyway I'm eating way too much now too. I don't like it but its better than the alternative.

I came to know about sugar cravings after quitting drinking now. Thanks for sharing.

While we are on the topic of eating and weight may I suggest that you research this article title? I would post a link but I'm not sure links are allowed on this forum.

"Trading Alcoholism for Sugar Addiction: Here’s the Not-So-Sweet Truth"

Jules, cut yourself some slack--for now. I think there's a connection between starting the step work and the cravings subsiding. It did for me. Developing a relationship with a power greater than you might also be helpful. It helped saved my butt plenty of times.

I eventually had to eliminate the sugar and sweets. Their effect on me was almost as severe as the booze. I agree with the others about concentrating on getting sober: go to meetings, don't drink between them, get a sponsor, start the steps.

Alcohol is sugar, so the brain sees the sweets the same way. I was the same way (still have a problem limiting sugar intake) and switched to sugar-free candy.

It's not a good idea at all for alcoholics to binge on sweets. Sugar is addictive and, like some people above already mentioned, it affects the body in a very similar way to alcohol. So all you are doing is replacing one addiction with another.

In the last couple of days before I quit I drank probably 50 beers and a fifth of wiskey and ate nothing, first day of sobriety ate nothing, second day ate a handful of onion rings by day three or four I was eating everything in sight at two weeks now everything is pretty much back to normal

Thank you for this thread! Day 1 for me and I've been eating every two hours, carbs and protein mostly with lots of water. I'll probably devour my pillow during the night...
but better than laying in bed in an alcohol sweat!

Yeah I did the same. Oven pizzas and ice cream like it was nothing. Body begs for something to fill that craving, urge- i suppose.